Nursing Care in Life, Death and Disaster American Nurses Association The American Nurses Association (ANA) is embarking on a highly consultative and collaborative dialogue, culminating with a landmark conference, Nursing Care in Life, Death and Disaster, to be held June 20-22 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta in Atlanta, Georgia. This dialogue and conference is dedicated to considering the significant health and disaster preparedness policy questions related to an altered standard of care that can result from a major natural or manmade disaster. During such times, registered nurses and other health professionals must make difficult decisions in light of the disaster's context that challenge the established scopes and standards of care, professional ethical codes, and other legal and regulatory frameworks that articulate the expected standard of care during a non-emergency situation. Prior to the conference, ANA is convening a multidisciplinary expert panel that provides extensive expertise in the areas of public health, disaster preparedness, and care of special populations. The expert panel will be instrumental in developing the background document to be used in preparing the conference attendees to participate in the policy discussion. This document will ultimately serve as one of the final products for dissemination. The conference targets registered nurses, nursing educators, managers, other health professions, disaster planners and responders, and health policy makers. The conference attendees will learn about reconciliation of the professional, legal and regulatory conflicts of a diminished standard of care and promote better decision-making that will improve patient outcomes and quality of care provided during a major disaster. Ultimately, this policy discussion will also enhance communication with the public and impacted communities about the nature and implications of this altered standard. This grant request is seeking funding to support a major policy dialogue and conference examining issues related to an altered or diminished standard of care that can result following a major natural or manmade disaster. This policy discussion is relevant to the federal government's interest in better preparing health care professionals to respond to such disasters. Ultimately, the goal of the conference is to improve patient care and outcomes during a disaster. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]